Radio-Sport.net Your home for amateur radio contest news

As the August 2010 NAQP SSB Contest arrives this weekend, contesters in North America don't want to see a repeat of the start of the NAQP CW from earlier this month, as the sun decided to throw out a decent-sized solar flare just as that test was getting underway. It didn't ruin the contest, but it once again helped to hold down high band numbers.

All 95 counties will be activated for the 2010 Tennessee QSO Party, giving you nine hours to try to put together a sweep of the Volunteer State. Bob Harder W0BH is the defending out of state Single Op champ, while Bob Edmondson N4VV was the 2009 Single Op High Power champ inside Tennessee. Helping make things more interesting will be at least a dozen mobiles on the roads as well.

After his entry in the 2009 CQ WW SSB Contest was reclassified from Low Power to Assisted, Teddy Jiminez HI3TEJ has dropped out of the lead in the radio-sport.net Single Operator World Standings, clearing the way for Yuri Kurinyi UA9AM to grab the top spot, with a narrow lead over Yuri Onipko VE3DZ.

After the CQ WW Contest Committee handed out 7 Red Cards and 4 Yellow Cards for the 2009 CQ WW DX SSB Contest, one member of that panel says that "multiple" disqualifications should again be expected when the final numbers of the 2009 CQ WW CW Contest are issued in coming weeks by CQ Magazine.

A second straight year of high profile disqualifications and rules warnings by the CQ WW Contest Committee is winning worldwide support in the ham radio contest community, as contesters say the get-tough approach is the right way to deal with cheating. "It should have started many years ago," read one email to radio-sport.net.

The CQ WW Contest Committee has continued its crackdown on cheating, handing out seven Red Cards and 4 Yellow Cards in final results on the 2009 CQ WW SSB Contest. The big DQ tossed out the top QRP score from KP4KE (DK8ZB); also a top low power entrant, HI3TEJ, was moved to the Assisted category along with almost thirty other competitors.

The CQ WW Contest Committee has continued its crackdown on cheating, handing out seven Red Cards and 4 Yellow Cards in final results on the 2009 CQ WW SSB Contest. The big DQ tossed out the top QRP score from KP4KE (DK8ZB); also a top low power entrant, HI3TEJ, was moved to the Assisted category along with almost thirty other competitors.

With high praise for Russian organizers of the 2010 World Radiosport Team Championship, a number of operators had equally favorable reviews for the Field Day setup that was used, as a way to ensure an even playing field for all 48 teams from around the world.

In a very close finish, the Russian duo of RW1AC and RA1AIP won a narrow victory in the 2010 World Radiosport Team Championship, the first time a team from outside North America has ever won the top prize in the "World Cup" of the ham radio contest community.

After years of preparation by Russian organizers, the 2010 World Radiosport Team Championship is finally here, as ham radio's "World Cup" of contesting will select the top pair of contesters in a unique Field Day-style competition near Moscow. This year's competition will use the internet to stream live video of the opening and closing ceremonies.

After months of controversy about the judging of the 2009 IARU HF Championships, the time for argument is over, and the time for switching on the radio and contesting is here on the second weekend in July 2010. This year's contest features the running of the World Radiosport Team Championships in Russia - and there will be hams outside of the ARRL ready to judge your HQ entries as well.

A group of European ham radio associations have agreed to take on the job of adjudicating HQ category entries for the 2010 IARU HF Contest, moving to fill the void left after the ARRL announced earlier this month that it would no longer judge the HQ competition because of past rules disputes.

While the IARU HF Championships is a very popular July contest that is still a couple of weeks away for the ham radio contest community, for those contesters involved in the World Radiosport Team Championships in Russia, there is furious last minute preparation ongoing for what's basically the World Cup of amateur radio contesting.

With contesters still venting their frustrations over an ARRL move to scrap the HQ competition in the IARU HF Contest, a group of European hams has started looking for ways to forge a rules change that might be acceptable to the ARRL for the future. The group will evidently try to hold meetings on the plan at the Friedrichshafen convention in Germany later this month.

In a surprise move, the ARRL has announced that it will no longer judge the logs in the HQ category of the IARU HF Contest, saying the recent battle between Spanish and German amateurs over who won the 2009 HQ title had become a "distraction from the other issues facing Amateur Radio organizations today."

It will feel a lot like a CQ WW Contest with the exchange and point system, except that South American stations are worth extra points - that's because they are the focus of this weekend's WWSA CW Contest, sponsored by the Grupo Argentino de Radiotelegrafia (GACW).

After a successful start in 2009, the Australian Shires Contest returns for 2010, with organizers hoping that they can get even more hams from around the world to turn their antennas "Down Under" for a few contacts. If you like multipliers, this is for you, as 741 different "Shires" are up for grabs.

A review of the 2009 CQ WW DX SSB logs now posted on the internet shows that while Single Operators can be on the air for 48 hours, the average time spent in the contest last year was much less, just over 12 hours per all-band entry. Take a look at the some of the details churned out by DL8MBS and DL6MHW.

While conditions weren't as good for the 2010 WPX CW Contest as the WPX SSB, the top scorers in the Single Op High Power and Low Power categories, EF8M and P49Y, could be on their way to victories and new World records.

he Alabama QSO Party returns this week with organizers hoping for another year of growth in terms of contest activity. Last year, all 67 counties were active, but no one made the sweep. The closest was a QRP op, Erik Andersen K9EU of Illinois, who got to 66.